PANE AND HUTU

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1031, 23 July 1930, Page 16

PANE AND HUTU

This is the story of Pane, a great Maori chieftainess, who lived many generations ago. Just as the story was told to me, so 1 tell it to you. It was the chief of a great tribe who told the story of Pane, the beautiful, strong of will, yet loving and kind to her people, who adored her. She was so high in rank that she lived apart from the other people, surrounded only by her maidens, who were always busy doing some work for her. The floor of her large whare was covered with beautiful mats, and all about could be seen the many beautiful things which she wore at different times. One day many of the young men of the, tribe were playing games in the marae, a large space <n front of the whares, and were shouting and making much noise. All the people who were looking on were also shouting out with great excitement. First one would win and then another. Just at that time a dark young man, tall and strong, came on the ground and asked to join in the games. They all consented, for he was a frank open-faced young man who spoke very little. At first he seemed to play no better than the others, indeed some had begun to jeer at his play and, as he failed and one of their own warriors proved to be a much better player, great shouts of laughter went up when the game was finished. Jut then Pane, who heard the noise, came from her whare to see the games. The visitor saw her, and thought her beautiful, besides which he knew she was a great chieftainess. As she watched, it was soon seen that the visitor was able to beat every one of the warriors at their own games, for he did not lose a single game while she was looking on. Then the young warriors

asked him to play another game which he did not know. This was a game played with flax sticks, and he won that, too. They wondered who this young man could be. Now,’in the game with the flax sticks, the visitor s stick broke once and part of it touched Pane. He told her how sorry he was and begged her to forgive him. She did, and asked him to come to her whare. He knew that no man had ever been in Pane’s whare and thought that her people would kill him if he followed her, so he told Pane that he could not go. She smiled and said she wanted to talk to him and find out who he was and where he came from. He told her that his name was Hutu, that he came from a long distance, and that he was a chief of high rank. Pane liked the young man very much because he did not boast, and he was so quiet and yet so very strong. She could not get him to go to her whare and so let him go, telling him that he must come again because she loved him.

When she once more entered her whare she was very sad and her maidens brought her food and drink, but she would neither eat nor drink, and when she had been without food for some days*the elders of the tribe thought that if they could get Hutu to come and see her she might get better; and so some of the swiftest runners among the young men were sent to beg Hutu to return so that their beloved chieftainess might recover, but before they returned Pane seemed to pass quietly away. She was taken out and laid upon a platform high off the ground and preparations were made for a great tangi. A great deal of food was collected, and much dried shark was strung on tea-tree rails. Then Hutu arrived, pale and tired after his long journey. He saw the preparations for the tangi, and knew that Pane must have died. He was very sad and, when the people told him how Pane had died with his name on her lips, the tears fell down his cheeks and he fled into the bush and there for three days without food he prayed to the great god Ra to let his light shine upon Pane so that she might be raised up to bUiss him and her people; and then he walked slowly back until he came to the high platform, when lo! there was Pane smiling on him. He quickly seized her in his arms and bore her back to her people. The joy was great, the people shouted and danced till they were overcome. “Hutu is a great man and Pane a great woman,” they said. Soon they were married and they both lived long, and there was no happiness like that of Pane and Hutu. —Sea Drift.